Fellows

Saudi Modern - Turki and Abdulrahman Gazzaz - Bricklab

Marble Cuisine MOC Offices A & B, Dhahran, 2022. Courtesy of Marble Cuisine

Turki and Abdulrahman Gazzaz - Bricklab ( Saudi Arabia )

In the seven decades following the discovery of oil, human settlements across the Saudi Arabian kingdom have changed dramatically. Roughly over only two generations, Saudi society has trodden hastily towards modernity and witnessed a wholesale overhaul of traditional notions of civic/rural development. As our homes transitioned from mud, bricks, and stone to clad reinforced concrete; so has our society, its constituent communities, and respective shared values. This project aims to unfold the narrative of modern development since the former decades of the 20th century by focusing on architecture and urbanism across the different cities, towns, and villages in the Kingdom. By studying these early interactions with modern technologies and development models, we may better understand the ideological repercussions of modernity. In doing so, we may critically assess our contemporary attitudes towards tradition and its role in reshaping our collective values.

Hayy Cinema, Hayy Jameel ,Al Muhammadiyah Dt. , Jeddah - Saudi Arabia (c) Mohammed Eskandrani, 2022
Indeterminate Plateaus, Al Balad, Jeddah - Saudi Arabia (c) Jon Soriano, 2018. Courtesy of Saudi Arts Council
MOC Offices A & B, Riyadh (c) Bricklab, 2021
Saudi Modern, Sharafiyah , Jeddah - Saudi Arabia (c) Ibraheem Bin Taleb, 2021
National pavilion of Saudi Arabia, Venice - Italy, 2018. Courtesy of Misk Art Institute
Tactile Cinema, Lisbon -Portugal (c) Bruno Lopes, 2021. Courtesy of MAAT Lisbon.
Reciprocity as staple, Hayy Jameel , Jeddah - Saudi Arabia (c) Mohammed Eskandrani, 2021. Courtesy of Art Jameel

Funded by Goethe Institut Saudi Arabia - goethe_in_saudiarabien